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Associated Press

POSTED:January 15, 2013 10:17 a.m.

ATLANTA — Georgia House Speaker David Ralston said leading up to the General Assembly's opening gavel that he wanted his re-election to be free from the drama that his counterpart in Washington, D.C., saw earlier this month.

He got his wish Monday, winning the gavel for another term by an easy 160-18 vote.

Rep. Jan Jones, R-Milton, won a 118-57 vote for another term as speaker pro tempore, the No. 2 job in the lower chamber.

Those margins mean Ralston and Jones each drew several dozen votes from Democrats in the overwhelmingly Republican chamber.

That's a far cry from Congress, where House Speaker John Boehner couldn't get fellow Republicans to vote for him on the heels of his latest tax deal with President Barack Obama.